Apparatus for building patios



July 22,1958 w. F. BENSQN 2,843,912

APPARATUS FOR BUILDING PATIOS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 15, 1955 INVENTOR ZUaZZsr J? Benson ATTORNEYS July 22, 1958 w. F. BENSON 2,843,912

APPARATUS FOR BUILDING PATIOS Filed Sept. 15, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 v INVENTOR [Va 2562' Ffiensorz BY GMM 4 ATTORNEYS July 22, 1958 w. F. BENSON APPARATUS FOR BUILDING PATIOS Filed Sept. 15, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 R a 3 W 6 Wm W. Z A mm k M 7 a B M n1 7 July 22, 1958 w. F. BENSON 2,843,912

APPARATUS FOR BUILDING PATIOS Filed Sept. 15, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ZUaZZcrFBenson f ATTORNEYS United States Patent APPARATUS FOR BUILDING PATIOS Walter F. Benson, Great Falls, Mont.

Application September 15, 1955, Serial No. 534,533

3 Claims. (Cl. 25-118) This invention relates to apparatus for building patios from slabs of concrete or the like and more particularly relates to means of construction which are especially adapted for use by persons having limited time available for the construction of such patios.

The apparatus of this invention may be considered as comprising a basic unit composed of a number of parts usable in accordance with the invention to construct a patio in a number of stages each having a plurality of similar steps comprising building firstly one section of the patio, secondly a substantially identical section, thirdly another substantially identical section, and so on until the entire patio is completed, thereby enabling one to utilize his spare time for the construction of a patio in progressive steps. Alternatively, it is possible for one to build a patio more rapidly by joining a plurality of the basic units, whereby each stage of construction of the patio will encompass a greater area than would be encompassed by the use of a single basic unit.

An object of the invention is to provide a unit of apparatus for use in the building of a patio and which is of such construction as to permit the apparatus unit to be used successively in the building of a plurality ofsubstantially identical patio sections so positioned relatively to one another as to form a complete patio of a desired size.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus units of the kind referred to which maybe used individually or in connection with similar units so as either to form a succession of individual patio sections, or to form a plurality of patio sections substantially simultaneously.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel means for building a patio or the like in a number of related, successive stages.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus for building a patio from concrete or the like slabs, not all of which are of the same configuration.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be referred to specifically or will become apparent from the following description when it is considered in conjunction with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a plan view of a basic apparatus unit of one form of the invention, the parts being arranged as they would appear during one stage of the building of a patio;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l, but showing the basic apparatus unit moved from the position shown in Figure l to a corresponding position and stage of construction of a second section of a patio;

. Figure 3 is a plan view of a partially completed patio and showing the use, in one stage of construction of a plurality of sections of the patio, of equipment which may be a part of the basic apparatus unit;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, but showing the patio in a more fully completed stage;

Figure Sis a fragmentary, enlarged view, partly in plan and partly in section, of a portion of the parts included in a basic unit, the parts shown being so connected as to provide a form for concrete or the like;

Figure 6 is an elevation of the parts shown in Figure 5, certain parts being shown in section;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the parts shown in Figures 5 and 6;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of one of the parts forming the basic unit of apparatus shown in the preceding views;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a part which may be included as one of the parts of the basic apparatus unit;

Figure 10 is a plan view of a modified form of basic unit of the invention, the parts being arranged as they would appear during one stage of the building of a section of an annular or circular patio;

Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 10, but showing the parts arranged as they would appear in another stage of completion of the patio; and

Figure 12 is a plan view of a completed section of an annular patio,

In the illustrative embodiment of the invention disclosed in Figures 1 through 9, a basic unit of apparatus generally designated 1 includes a plurality of substantially T-shaped, rigid, rod-like or tubular members 2, each of which comprises a stem 3 and a cross-bar 4 secured at substantially its midpoint to the stem in a suitable manner such as by welding. Adjacent to each end of each of the T-shaped members 2 is a pin or the like 5 which extends through the members and projects a short distance beyond the outer surface of the part 2. Each end of the member 2 is adapted to be received in a socket part 6 which is fixed to a panel element 7 or 7a. in any suitable manner. As is best illustrated in Figure 7, the socket parts 6 conveniently may be substantially U-shaped in section and the side walls 8 of the socket parts may be notched as at 9 for reception of the pins 5 so that the panel elements 7 and 7a may be securely, but removably, connected to the ends of the T-shaped members 2 and lie substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axes of the respective parts 3 and 4.

Each of the panel elements 7 includes a central portion 10 adapted to form a side of aform for concrete or the like and end portions 11 adapted for connection to the panel elements 7a. The portion 12 of each panel element 7a is adapted to provide a side of a form for concrete or the like and the length of each portion 12 corresponds to the length of each portion 10 of the panel elements 7. As is best shown in Figures 5, 6, and 7, each includes a pair of angle brackets 13 secured to the rear face of the element by means of rivets 14 so that one Wing 15 of each bracket lies substantially flush with the respective side of the element portion 12 and projects rearwardly to provide a portion adapted for connection to an end portion 11 of the panel element 7. The re spective portions 11 and 15 may be connected one to another by means of a bolt 16 adapted to be passed through holes in the respective portions, and the connected panels may be secured by a wing nut 17 or the like on the bolt 16 so as thereby to provide a rigid substantially square form 18 for concrete or the like.

When it is desired to make use of only a single basic unit 1 in constructing a substantially rectangular patio, the site is selected and construction begun preferably by positioning one of the substantially square forms 18 at one corner of the site. To the corner form 18 are connected two of the T-shaped spanner or connecting members, the cross-bars of the latter being positioned substantially normal to each other and the stems of the members 2 converging towards one another. At the opposite ends of the cross-bar 4 of each of the two members 2 just referred to, is connected a frame or form unit 18, thereby providing three forms and to each of the last mentioned forms is connected a T-shaped spanner membet 2 which is positioned similarly to the other members 2. That is, the cross-bars of the T-shaped members together form a rectangle having a substantially square form at each corner and each of the stems 3 projects towards a point lying between the four corner forms. To the ends of the respective stems 3 is connected a substantially square form similar in all respects to the corner forms. The arrangement of the forms as described constitutes the first stage of construction in one manner of building a substantially rectangular patio.

With the five substantially square forms in position, the second stage of construction may be undertaken which comprises the filling of the five forms with concrete or the like and allowing it to become set to form rigid, substantially square slabs, the positions of the slabs corresponding to the location of the corner forms of the basic apparatus unit 1 being designated in the drawings by the letter A, and the slab corresponding to the centrally located form of the basic unit being designated by the letter B.

When the material forming the slabs A and B has become set any two adjacent corner forms and the central form, together with the associated spacer members 2, may be removed from about their respective slabs and be repositioned to enable two more corner slabs and one more central slab to be poured. The repositioning of the connecting members 2 in the forms 18 may proceed in any direction from the first formed set of slabs. For example, the second set of slabs may be formed to the right of the initially formed set as is indicated in the full line showing in Figure 2, or the construction of the second set of slabs may proceed in the direction shown by the chain lines of Figure 2. In any event, the substantially square slabs A and B are formed in staggered, regularly spaced rows with the outer edges 19 of the outermost rows of slabs A forming the borderline of the patio.

When a desired number of rows of the slabs A and B has been formed, the next stage of construction may begin. This stage comprises the forming of slabs of concrete or the like between groups of the slabs A and B and between the slabs of the outermost row and the borderline. To begin this stage of construction the forms 18 and their connecting T-shaped members 2 are first removed from the rigid slabs A and B. Before proceeding further with the description of this stage of construction reference is made to Figure 9 which discloses a member 2 similar to the member 2 in that a cross-bar 4 is secured substantially at its midpoint to a stem 3 the ends of the cross-bar and stem being provided with pins E similar to the pins 5. The member 2*, however, includes an additional stem 3 also having a pin 5 adjacent its free end, the stem 3* being so arranged relatively to the stem 3* and the cross-bar 4 as to impart to the member 2 substantially the shape of an X. The X- shaped member 2 can take the place of one of the T shaped members 2 in the basic unit if desired and if the X-shaped member is included in the basic unit the com pletion of the present stage of patio construction can be simplified.

Assuming that the X-shaped member 2 is included as a part of the basic unit, it may have connected to each of its ends a panel member 7 and in this connection it is pointed out that the lengths of the two halves of the cross-bar 4 and the stems 3 and 3 and the lengths of the portions of the panel elements 7 and 7 which provide sides for the forms 18 are such that the distance from a corner of one of the slabs A to the closest corner of an adjacent slab B corresponds to the length of the portion 12 of the panel 7 Thus, an X-shaped member 2 having a panel section 7 at each of its ends may be positioned in the space between a group of four of the substantially square slabs, as is shown in Figures 3 and 4, so that the panel sections 7 bridge the distance between the nearest corners of adjacent slabs A and B and provide, together with the edges of the slabs A and B, a form bounding the space between other slabs A and B.

As is shown in Figure 3, the X-shaped member 2 may be in conjunction with a T-shaped member 2 having a panel element 7 at each of its ends providing, together with a group of slabs A and B, forms bounding the space between adjacent slabs. A convenient manner of utilizing the T- and X-shaped members in the beginning of the third stage of construction of the patio is to position the T-shaped member 2 adjacent to one edge of the patio border with the juncture of the cross-bar 4 and the stem 3 lying in the line of the second row of slabs and with one of the panel elements 7 bridging the space between the innermost corner of the corner slab A and the nearest adjacent corner of a slab B in the second row. The X-shaped member 2 may be located adjacent to the T-shaped member so that two of the panels 7 bridge the spaces between the inner corners of the second slab A in the outer row and the nearest corners of the adjacent slabs B and B in the second row. In this arrangement of parts the sides 20, 21, and 22 of the respective slabs A B and A together with the associated panel elements 7 provide a form bounding the space between the slabs A B and A A board 23 or the like may be placed against the outer sides of the outermost blocks A and A so as to complete the form. With the several parts in place, concrete or the like may be poured into the form and permitted to set. After the concrete or the like has set, a five sided single slab C of concrete or the like will have been formed between the stabs A B and A Then, permitting the X-shaped member to remain in the same position, the T-shaped member may be moved to the other side of the X-shaped member to a position between the slabs B A B and A, and the form composed of the panel sections 7 and the sides 23, 24, and 25 of the slabs A B and A respectively, filled with concrete to produce another slab C similar to the slab C Then the X-shaped member can be repositioned on the other side of the T-shaped member and the process repeated as often as necessary to produce slabs similar to the slabs C and C After two or more of the marginal slabs C have been formed the X-shaped member 2 can be transferred to the position shown in chain lines in Figure 3, which corresponds to the full line position shown in Figure 4, and a board (not shown) or the like can be so placed as to span the distance between slabs A and A". The T-shaped member can be positioned as shown in Figure 4 and the form composed of the sides 26, 27, 28, and 29 of the slabs A C B and A respectively, and the associated panel section 7 of the X-shaped member can be filled with concrete or the like to form a single five sided slab C At substantially the same time the form composed of the sides 30, 31, 32, and 33 of the slabs B A B and A respectively, the associated sides of the slabs C and C and the associated panel elements 7 of the X- and T-shaped members can be filled with concrete or the like to form a single octagonally shaped slab D. After the material forming the slabs C and D has become set, the X-shaped member can be positioned on the other side of the T-shaped member and so on to form a row of octagonally shaped slabs. These steps can be repeated as often as necessary to complete the patio. In order to preserve the appearance of the slabs of concrete or the like during their construction, spacer elements (not shown) may be positioned at the sides of the slabs which are to provide a portion of the forms, and it will be apparent that a completed patio will include a plurality of slabs of geometric configuration, not all of which are the same.

The disclosure of the invention thus far has been confined to a description of a single basic unit of apparatus and its method of its uses. If only a single unit is used each stage of construction of a patio will comprise a number of similar steps. If more than one unit is used at a time the number of steps necessary to complete each stage of construction can be reduced because a larger number of forms can be arranged in the desired pattern and a correspondingly larger number of slabs can be formed substantially simultaneously. The advantage of the single unit, however, is that it is inexpensive and enables the construction of a patio to progress in a number of simple steps, none of which is excessively time-consuming, thereby making it possible for a relatively unskilled person to build a patio in his spare time at a minimum of expense.

The invention is not limited to the construction of rectangular patios, but is susceptible of modification to enable patios of diifeernt configuration to be built. As an example, Figures -12 disclose apparatus for use in the building of annular or circular patios.

In Figures 10-l2 only a single basic unit of apparatus has been shown, but it will be understood that more than one unit may be used when desired. The unit preferably comprises a substantially I-shaped member 33 composed of a pair of parallel rods or tube-like parts 34 and 35, the part 34 being longer than the part 35 and projecting beyond both ends of the latter. The parts 34 and 35 are joined together by a connecting rod 36 secured at its respective ends to the parts 34 and 35. Each of the rods 34, 35 is provided with pins 37 adjacent to its ends which are adapted to seat in notches 38 provided in socket parts 39 secured at an angle in any suitable manner to panel sections or elements 40 which are adapted to form sides of arcuate forms for concrete or the like. The panel elements 40 are similar to the panel elements 7 previously described in that each of the elements 40 includes a central portion 41 and end portions 42 comprising angle brackets secured to the portion 40 by means of rivets 43 or the like. The free flange 44 of each of the brackets is arcuately formed to match the curvature of panel sections 45 and 46 which are apertured at their end portions 47 for reception of bolts 48 which also extend through the bracket flanges 44. The several sections may be connected one to another by the provision of wing nuts 49 or the like on the ends of the bolts 48 so as to provide rigid arcuate forms 50 for concrete or the like.

In the first stage of construction of an annular patio according to one manner of construction, a pair of forms 50 may be positioned adjacent to one another along an arc of a circle and spaced apart by a member 33 as is shown in Figure 10. In these positions of the parts concrete or the like may be poured into the forms 50 and permitted to set to form rigid slabs E and E When the slabs E have been formed the panel sections 40, 45, and 46 may be removed from one of the slabs, say E together with the I-shaped connecting member 33, and be repositioned on the other side of the slab E as is shown in Figure 11. Then concrete or the like may be poured into the repositioned form to provide another slab E and this procedure may be repeated as often as is necessary to complete the construction of spaced, substantially circularly disposed slabs. It will be clear that the diameter of the annular patio to be formed will depend upon the size of the parts which make up the forms 50, the lengths of the members 33, and the angular disposition of the socket parts 39 relative to their associated panel elements. These determining factors will be considered at the time of manufacture of the apparatus so that the user will be able to form a substantially perfect annulus without independent calculations. The completion of the construction of spaced, substantially circularly disposed slabs completes the second stage of construction of the annular patio.

The third stage of construction comprises forming slabs in the spaces between the slabs E. In the disclosed embodiment the dimensions of the space between the several slabs E are subtantially the same as the dimensions of each of the slabs. Thus, the construction of slabs in the spaces between the slabs B may be accomplished by disconnecting the panel member 45-46 from the other parts of the forms and positioning the parts 45 and 46 to bridge the gap between adjacent slabs E (Figure 12) to provide, together with the facing edges of the slabs E, a form into which concrete of the like may be poured to form a slab -F between the slabs E and E The panel elements 45 and 46 may be held in position in any suitable manner such as by stakes, not shown. In order that the individual slabs will stand out, spacing strips (not shown) may be placed along the side edges of the slabs E in accordance with usual practice.

When the last space between adjacent slabs E has been filled with concrete or the like the annular patio is complete. slabs E and F may be filled with concrete or the like to form a circular patio, a spacing strip (not shown) being provided along the inner peripheral edge of the annulus.

In another manner of construction of an annular patio, a plurality of units may be assembled along the circumference of a circle in the first stage of construction so as to provide a plurality of spaced, substantially annularly arranged slabs E. Then the distance between each of the slabs E may be bridged by the panel elements 45 and 46 so that the latter, together with the sides of the slabs E, provide forms for the reception of concrete or the like to form the slabs F. Following the formation of the slabs F, the space bounded by the annulus of slabs E and F may be filled with concrete or the like to form a circular patio.

The apparatus described is representative of apparatus according to the invention, but the disclosureis intended to be illustrative rather than definitive of the invention. The invention is defined in the appended claims.

1 claim:

1. Apparatus for use in constructing concrete platforms on a flat surface, comprising a plurality of frames open vertically therethrough and having narrow substantially vertical wall portions cooperating with the flat surface to constitute concrete forms, and spacing means arranged between said frames, said spacing means comprising a plurality of arms, the ends of two of said arms being arranged in alinement and at least one other of said arms being arranged transversely of said two arms, a wall portion of each of said frames being arranged at the end of each of said arms, and means for detachably connecting said frames to said spacing means, said ends of said arms being so spaced from each other and said frames being of such size that when said frames are connected to said connecting means, said frames are all spaced from each other.

2. Apparatus for use in constructing concrete platfonns on a flat surface, comprising a plurality of frames open vertically therethrough and resting on the flat surface to constitute therewith a plurality of concrete forms, two of said frames having relatively straight walls substantially parallel to each other and another of said forms having a straight wall perpendicular to said parallel walls, and spacing means arranged between said frames and comprising a plurality of arms, the ends of two of said arms being arranged in alinement, the respective parallel frame walls being arranged at the ends of such arms, said spacing means having another arm projecting to said frame wall which is perpendicular to said parallel walls, and means for detachably connecting said frame walls to said spacing means, the ends of said arms being so spaced from each other and said frames being of such size that when said frames are connected to said connecting means, said frames are all spaced from each otherl 3. Apparatus for use in constructing concrete platforms on a flat surface, comprising a plurality of panels elongated horizontally and relatively narrow vertically, and spacing means associated with said frames, said spacing means If desired, the space bounded by the annulus of v comprising a plurality of arms, the ends of two of which are arranged in alinement, with two of said panels arranged eat the ends of said alined arms parallel to each other and perpendicular to such arms, said spacing means having another arm extending transversely from said alined arms, one of said panels being arranged at the end of said other arm and transversely of said other panels, and means detachably connecting said panels to said spacing means in rigid relationship to each other, the ends of said arms being so spaced from each other and said panels being of such horizontal length that when said panels are connected to said spacing means, said panelsfare all spaced from each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Cope Feb. 24, 1903 Daly Feb. 15,1910 Cook Feb. 6, 1917 Clyne Oct. 4, 1932 Ruppel May 14, 1935 Krucker Mar. 3, 1953 Seemann Feb. 16, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS France July 8, 1919 Italy Sept. 29, 1949 

